


Emergency Contact

by Brumeier



Series: Bite Sized Fic [80]
Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Veterinarians, Cats, M/M, Prompt Fill
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-17
Updated: 2016-06-17
Packaged: 2018-07-15 16:58:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,588
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7230919
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Brumeier/pseuds/Brumeier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>LJ Comment Fic for Animal Companions prompt: <i>Stargate Atlantis, Any, Veterinary AU</i></p><p>In which Rodney's cat gets into trouble, and the only person they can call is a clueless John Sheppard.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Emergency Contact

Laura wasn’t watching the clock, but she wasn’t _not_ watching it either. It had been a long day. Her scrubs were covered in animal hair and other, more disgusting, substances, and she’d missed lunch. Again.

Ten minutes till closing time, a woman came in carrying a cardboard box that sounded like it had a very angry cat inside, judging by all the yowling.

“We’ve got a live one,” Chuck murmured from behind the receptionist desk.

The woman made a beeline for Laura. “Can you help me?”

“I can certainly try.” Laura took the box when it was thrust at her. There was a lot of scrabbling coming from inside, in addition to the high level of noise.

“I found this cat on the side of the road. He’s bleeding, and I didn’t know what to do with him.”

“You brought him to the right place. Chuck?”

Laura left it to Chuck to get the woman’s name and contact information, just in case they needed it. She took the box into the back, to exam room one, and closed the door to keep the cat contained in case he tried to make a run for it.

Which he did, as soon as she opened the flaps on the box. A black and white blur made straight for the door, pawing at it frantically. He had a pretty bad gash on his hindquarters.

“Hey! Easy does it, fella.” Laura grabbed a cat treat out of the jar on the counter and hunkered down. “It’s okay. Look. I have a kitty snack.”

The word _snack_ had the cat freezing in place, and then he turned to look at her.

“Wilson? Is that you?”

The cat’s ears, which had been pressed flat to his head, perked up. He gave Laura a tentative meow, and when she held out the cat treat he limped over and batted it out of her hand so he could eat it off the floor.

When he was done eating, Laura carefully scooped him up and set him on the exam table. She kept one hand on Wilson while she reached for the phone with the other.

“Chuck? Can you call Dr. McKay? I’ve got Wilson in here. And I need Dr. Z.”

Laura hung up the phone, and turned her attention to Wilson. He was a frequent visitor to the Animal Hospital, because Dr. McKay was a worrier. If Wilson was eating too much, or too little, or seemed out of sorts, or was scratching himself too much, he was brought in for an exam. _Everyone_ knew Wilson.

Still, Laura followed procedure and scanned the cat’s chip, which had all of his medical information and Dr. McKay’s contact information on it.

There was a knock on the door, and then Dr. Z stuck his head in. “Where is he?” he whispered.

Laura shook her head. “Dr. McKay isn’t here. Someone found Wilson and brought him in.”

Dr. Z looked relieved. He and Dr. McKay had an adversarial relationship; Dr. McKay challenged him on every diagnosis, every medical decision. It drove Dr. Z crazy. But Laura was always more than happy to point out that Dr. McKay didn’t trust anyone else with Wilson’s care, as much as he complained to the contrary.

“Quite a deep laceration,” Dr. Z said, examining the cat. “We will want stitches, I think.”

He ran his hands up Wilson’s sides. “No broken bones. But take x-rays to be certain.”

Laura scratched Wilson behind the ears. “We’ll take care of you, pretty baby. Yes we will.”

*o*o*o*

Wilson was resting comfortably in a cage in the back, and Dr. Z had gone home, but Laura and Chuck were still trying to reach Dr. McKay.

“Do you think something happened to him?” Chuck asked. “You know how he is about that cat.”

“I don’t know. You called AMG?”

Dr. McKay was a partner at Atlantis Medical Group, and a well-known diagnostician. If he couldn’t be reached on his cell phone, he could usually be found in his office.

“Of course. Deandra won’t tell me where he is, just that he’s not in the office.” Chuck sounded annoyed. He was usually pretty good at sweet-talking receptionists and administrative assistants, but Dr. McKay’s was a one-woman fortress, impossible to get around.

“Okay. Pull up the info from Wilson’s chip.” Laura pointed at the screen. “He added an emergency contact.”

She dialed the number, and only got one ring in before the call was picked up.

_Sheppard._

“Mr. Sheppard, my name is Laura Cadman. I’m calling from Southpaw Animal Hospital. You’re listed as an emergency contact for Wilson McKay.”

_What? Who’s Wilson McKay?_

Laura had learned to be patient with clients, but she rolled her eyes at Chuck. “Wilson is Rodney McKay’s cat. He was brought in today with minor injuries, but we can’t get hold of Dr. McKay.”

_I’m an emergency contact for a cat?_

“Sir, do you have a way of contacting Dr. McKay?”

_He’s out of town at a symposium. Have you tried his cell phone?_

“It goes straight to voicemail.”

_I’ll just come down there. Southpaw, you said?_

“That’s right. We’re just outside the city limits, East on Paramore.”

_Yeah, okay. I’ll be there soon._

Laura hung up, and shook her head. “I’m not sure this guy even knows Dr. McKay _has_ a cat.”

They waited around for another twenty-five minutes, during which Laura raided Dr. Biro’s office for her stash of honey mustard pretzels. She’d have to stop at Mr. Wong’s on the way home and get enough take-out to put her in a nice food coma.

Finally there was a knock on the glass door, and Chuck hurried over to let the guy in. John Sheppard was a tall drink of water, with hair that stuck up in adorable cowlicks. Laura could see why Dr. McKay put him as Wilson’s emergency contact: he was gorgeous.

“Mr. Sheppard? Laura Cadman. We spoke on the phone?”  
John shook her hand. “I couldn’t reach Rodney. If he’s presenting, he might have it turned off.”

Laura nodded. “That’s what I figured. Dr. McKay usually has a neighbor look after Wilson when he goes out of town, so something must’ve happened. Wilson got out, and it looks like he got in a fight with another animal of some kind. Luckily he’s up to date on his rabies vaccinations.”

John rubbed the back of his neck. To Laura, he seemed like a man out of his depth. Clearly he had no pets of his own.

“So the cat’s okay?”

“He’s just fine. He needed a few stitches, but we have him on antibiotics. As the emergency contact, we need you to sign off on him either staying here with us until Dr. McKay gets back, or taking him home.’

“Oh. Uh…what do you think Rodney would prefer?”

Laura shot Chuck a look. Dr. McKay’s new friend didn’t seem to know much about him. Interesting, considering the important job he’d been tasked with.

“Dr. McKay doesn’t like boarding Wilson,” Laura answered honestly.

Wilson was _never_ boarded, Dr. McKay felt very strongly about that. He was a feline rescue, and Dr. McKay was sure he’d have debilitating abandonment issues if he was put back in a cage for any length of time. It was kind of sweet, considering the source, but in light of what had happened to Wilson it wasn’t very smart. If he’d been boarded, he wouldn’t have gotten injured.

“Then I guess I’d better take him home.” John sounded resigned, and checked his cell phone, frowning at the screen.

“We just need you to sign some forms,” Chuck said, holding out the clipboard with Wilson’s release paperwork on it.

John ended up buying a few essentials from them before Laura handed him the cardboard carrier with a drowsy Wilson inside. He picked up a litter box and litter, food and water bowls, the mid-range brand of cat food that Chuck recommended, and a little jar of cat treats. Laura showed him how to give Wilson his medication, and assured him that they’d put everything on Dr. McKay’s account.

When John left he looked a little shell-shocked, but he was carefully holding the cat carrier and murmuring something to Wilson.

“Well, that was interesting,” Laura said. She left the paperwork for Aiden, who’d be covering the night shift to keep an eye on a couple of dogs that had had surgery earlier in the day. He’d also be manning the hotline phone, in case there was an emergency.

“When Dr. McKay calls I hope it’s not on my shift.” Chuck pulled his lunch bag out from under the desk, and started getting ready to leave.

“No joke.” Laura gathered up her things as well. She was already imagining how wonderful the steamed dumplings would taste. “He might want to rethink his choice of emergency contact.”

“I don’t know. He seemed nice enough, and he did take Wilson home.”

Laura nodded. He was nice. But John clearly didn’t have access to Dr. McKay’s apartment, or any idea what to do with a cat. There was a story there, one which Laura would desperately love to know, but she’d just have to use her imagination; Dr. McKay wasn’t going to spill the details of his personal life, not to her.

“See you tomorrow,” Laura said with a little wave. Chuck would stay until Aiden arrived, which should be soon.

She put Wilson and John Sheppard out of her mind, and focused instead on finally getting some dinner.


End file.
